Prayer For the Dying
is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of ''The Vampire Diaries'' and the one hundred and twenty third episode of the series. Summary THE MERGE — When Liv and Luke’s father arrives to town to celebrate their birthday, they try and convince him to let Jo and Kai take their place in the merge ceremony. After Tyler finds out that the merge is happening sooner than he expected, he urges Liv to let him talk to her father. Meanwhile, after Caroline’s plan to cure her mother takes an unexpected and devastating turn, Elena, Stefan and Damon gather at the hospital, while Jo attempts to save Sheriff Forbes’ life. Lastly, with the merge set to take place, Damon’s risky plan quickly sends things spiraling out of control, forcing one of the twins to take matters into their own hands. Plot }} Cast Main Cast *Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert *Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore *Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore *Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert (credit only) *Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett (credit only) *Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes *Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan (credit only) *Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood *Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman (credit only) *Michael Malarkey as Enzo (credit only) Recurring Cast *Penelope Mitchell as Liv Parker *Marguerite MacIntyre as Liz Forbes *Chris Brochu as Luke Parker *Jodi Lyn O’Keefe as Jo Laughlin *Chris Wood as Kai Parker *Christopher Cousins as Joshua Parker *Drew Stephenson as Colin Phelps Trivia * Antagonist: Kai. * Elena has a new daylight ring made by Jo. * Jo tries to revitalize a plant with her magic but fails. *Damon calls Jo a witch doctor as a pun on the fact that she's both a doctor and a witch. *Caroline learn that her mother Liz had signed over the deed to their house, this is how Colin could enter the Forbes House without being invited inside by Liz. *Colin Phelps arrives in Mystic Falls after dying due to Caroline's blood. However, as cancer cells grow, their growth was accelerated into stage 10 cancer (which doesn't exist) by vampire blood and Colin is a vampire with permanent tumors that can never heal. He is killed by Damon as a mercy killing. * Jo tries to help Sheriff Forbes by giving her transfusion of human blood in order to stop the vampire blood in her system from causing the same effect on her as it did on Colin Phelps, but it doesn't work. * Damon releases Kai, after Tyler started to free him, so that he can siphon the magic of the vampire blood out of Sheriff Forbes to prevent her from suffering the same fate as Colin. In exchange, Kai wants to perform the Merge that day and takes Jo from the hospital. **This implies that Kai or someone like him could kill a vampire by siphoning off the magic that keeps them alive, thus killing said vampire. *Elena threatens to rip off Kai's head if doesn't get to siphoning off the magic in the vampire blood in Liz's body. * All the magic that Kai asborbed from the The Travelers spell has gone away while he's been asleep, this is seen when he tries to inflict pain on Damon. *It's revealed by Joshua Parker that if the twins of the Parker bloodline don't perform The Merge, the Gemini bloodline will end. He also mentions that the the traits of the siblings of the twins that die in The Merge will be absorbed by the ones who survive, that the souls of both siblings will unite into one new being. * Joshua Parker tries to force Liv and Luke to merge to stop Kai but he is stopped by Tyler. * Despite the fact that she is not strong enough to fight him off, Jo accepts to merge with Kai, refusing to run from him anymore. * Luke intervenes in the Merge between Kai and Jo, and offers to merge with Kai instead. Due to the fact that his imprisonment had kept Kai at the age of 22 and that they were of the same bloodline, it provided the needed loophole to allow them to attempt the Merge. * Luke dies during the Merge and Kai now has permanent magic. *Damon tried to take Elena on a date that they have already have been on before during the "Summer of their lives", which was first taking her to diner and then to a theater where French films are playing and sit in the back of the theater and throw popcorn at the Hipsters. * Originally Elena wanted to start over with Damon; however, after witnessing the near death of Sheriff Forbes, she chooses to resume where they left off realizing life is too short. Even if you are immortal. *Elena doesn't speak French, even though she was taking French during her Sophmore year at Mystic Falls High School which is a class she took with Stefan as well as established in the ''Pilot''. **In real life Nina Dobrev speaks French as well as Bulgarian, making her tri-lingual. Continuity *Joshua Parker was last seen in Fade Into You. *This is the last appearance of Lucas Parker in the series as he's killed in the Merging with Malachai Parker but that doesn't rule out returning in flashbacks. *Damon is the second vampire in series to have their neck magically snapped in the series after Elena in ''Woke Up With a Monster'' and by the same person, Kai. *Elena is the first vampire to have two different witches make a daylight for her in either series. **Bonnie Bennett made her original ring in Growing Pains, which Kai melted in Woke Up With a Monster. **Jo made her replacement ring in between the previous episode and this one. *Colin Phelps is the second vampire unintentionally created with Caroline's blood that is killed. **The first was Jesse, staked by Elena. **The second was Colin, heart extraction by Damon. * This is the fourth episode in the series to feature a birthday. In this episode, it's Luke & Liv's 22nd birthday. **The first was Stefan's 162nd birthday in Season 1's 162 Candles. **The second was Elena's 18th birthday in Season 3's The Birthday. **The third was Caroline's 18th birthday in Season 3's Our Town. Body Count *Colin Phelps - Heart Extraction, killed by Damon Salvatore. *Luke Parker - Merge, killed by Malachai Parker. Behind the Scenes Cultural References *"Prayer For The Dying" is a song by Seal from his self-titled studio album released in May 1994. *Hipsters are a subculture of millenials living in urban areas. *Witch doctors were originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. Quotes Extended Promo :Elena to Damon: "If we're gonna do this, we can't just pick up where we left off." :Stefan: "The blood didn't heal him. It sped up his cancer and killed him." :Sheriff Forbes: "The same thing is going to happen to me." :Caroline: "Why did I feed her that blood?" :Stefan: "You took a risk. You did it out of love." :Elena to Damon: "Life's too short. I don't want to waste another minute." Multimedia Soundtrack Videos The Vampire Diaries - Prayer for the Dying Trailer The Vampire Diaries - Prayer for the Dying Clip The Vampire Diaries - Prayer for the Dying Clip 2 The Vampire Diaries How will Caroline handle her mom's "expiration date"? Pictures |-|Promotional= VD612b 112014 0404r 595 STV Main White TV.jpg VD612 111814 0204r 595 STV Main White TV.jpg VD612 111814 0027r 595 STV Main White TV.jpg VD612 111814 0281r 595 STV Main White TV.jpg |-|Screencaps= 6X12-1-Liz.jpg 6X12-2-Caroline.jpg 6X12-3-Caroline.jpg 6X12-4-Colin.jpg 6X12-5-CarolineColin.jpg 6X12-6-CarolineStefanColin.jpg 6X12-7-Colin.jpg 6X12-8-Caroline.jpg 6X12-9-Stefan.jpg 6X12-10-Caroline.jpg 6X12-11-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-12-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-13-Elena.jpg 6X12-14-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-15-Damon.jpg 6X12-16-TylerLiv.jpg 6X12-17-Tyler.jpg 6X12-18-TylerLiv.jpg 6X12-19-Liv.jpg 6X12-20-Joshua.jpg 6X12-21-Jo.jpg 6X12-22-Elena.jpg 6X12-23-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-24-Stefan.jpg 6X12-25-Jo.jpg 6X12-26-ElenaDamonJoStefan.jpg 6X12-27-Carolineliz.jpg 6X12-28-Elena.jpg 6X12-29-Stefan.jpg 6X12-30-ElenaStefan.jpg 6X12-31-Elena.jpg 6X12-32-Caroline.jpg 6X12-33-Liz.jpg 6X12-34-Jo.jpg 6X12-35-Damon.jpg 6X12-36-Liz.jpg 6X12-37-TylerLiv.jpg 6X12-38-LukeLiv.jpg 6X12-39-Tyler.jpg 6X12-40-Liv.jpg 6X12-41-Luke.jpg 6X12-42-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-43-Damon.jpg 6X12-44-Elena.jpg 6X12-45-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-46-Jo.jpg 6X12-47-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X12-48-Caroline.jpg 6X12-49-Colin.jpg 6X12-50-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X12-51-Damon.jpg 6X12-52-Liz.jpg 6X12-53-Elena.jpg 6X12-54-Elena.jpg 6X12-55-Liz.jpg 6X12-56-ElenaLiz.jpg 6X12-57-CarolineStefan.jpg 6X12-58-Caroline.jpg 6X12-59-Stefan.jpg 6X12-60-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X12-61-StefanCaroline.jpg 6X12-62-LivLuke.jpg 6X12-63-Joshua.jpg 6X12-64-Liv.jpg 6X12-65-Luke.jpg 6X12-66-Joshua.jpg 6X12-67-TylerKai.jpg 6X12-68-Damon.jpg 6X12-69-TylerDamon.jpg 6X12-70-DamonTylerKai.jpg 6X12-71-DamonKai.jpg 6X12-72-Liv.jpg 6X12-73-Damon.jpg 6X12-74-Joshua.jpg 6X12-75-Kai.jpg 6X12-76-Damon.jpg 6X12-77-Kai.jpg 6X12-78-Damon.jpg 6X12-79-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-80-KaiLizElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-81-Jo.jpg 6X12-82-Jo.jpg 6X12-83-Damon.jpg 6X12-84-Liz.jpg 6X12-85-ElenaLiz.jpg 6X12-86-KaiJo.jpg 6X12-87-Joshua.jpg 6X12-88-LivLuke.jpg 6X12-89-JoshuaLivLuke.jpg 6X12-90-Luke.jpg 6X12-91-TylerLiv.jpg 6X12-92-JoKai.jpg 6X12-93-JoKai.jpg 6X12-94-Kai.jpg 6X12-95-Luke.jpg 6X12-96-LukeKai.jpg 6X12-97-Liz.jpg 6X12-98-LukeKai.jpg 6X12-99-LukeKai.jpg 6X12-100-Liz.jpg 6X12-101-ElenaDamon.jpg 6X12-102-CarolineLiz.jpg 6X12-103-CarolineStefan.jpg 6X12-104-JoLuke.jpg 6X12-105-TylerLiv.jpg 6X12-106-Kai.jpg References See also Category:Vampire Diaries Episode Guide Category:Season 6 Category:Birthday episodes